SARATOGA SPRINGS -- When Hurricane Sandy swept across the East Coast in late October, Staten Island was particularly hard-hit. Thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed, and thousands lost power and heat. Many people have stepped up to help, and five of them are Dorothy Nolan Elementary School students, whose Cents for Sandy project is raising recovery funds.

Fifth-graders Aminah Bashir and Rian Davis, both Dorothy Nolan student council members, were among the many local people worried about family and friends in the wake of the storm.

"I have family on Staten Island," Bashir said. "Luckily, they were all right, but all the houses on the beach were wrecked."

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Davis has relatives in New Jersey, which was also heavily damaged.

"I was scared about my cousins, Emily and Kayla, and their mom," she said.

Davis and classmate Amber Connors came up with the idea to collect donations for storm victims.

At the same time, fourth-grader Lucy Cucinella was studying the hurricane in class, seeing pictures of the devastation on the National Geographic website. Cucinella also wanted to help, so she wrote a letter to the school Principal Kevin Froats about her proposal. Fifth-grader Leah Radovic joined in.

The project the five students -- Bashir, Davis, Cucinella, Connors and Radovic -- developed is called Cents for Sandy. Two big jugs were placed in the school lobby and cafeteria, collecting coins for Project Hospitality Staten Island Hurricane Relief Fund throughout January.

The girls spoke during morning announcements, telling students and staff about the plan and urging everyone to donate. The students then created colorful posters and a bulletin board detailing their charitable plan. The board even asked people to go through their pockets to look for spare change and to check their couches and dryers for change.

The five girls will also hold a bake sale from 9 a.m. to noon today at the new Wilton Berkshire Bank, 3025 Route 50, during which they will also accept donations.